MINSK, 23 March (BelTA) – Countries that acted on the advice of the USA have seen only bloodshed and devastation, Member of the House of Representatives of Belarus, Chairman of Belarus' Liberal Democratic Party Oleg Gaidukevich told BelTA as he commented on the phone call between Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei and Derek Chollet, a senior policy advisor to the Secretary of State at the rank of Under Secretary.
“Derek Chollet called Vladimir Makei. During the conversation he underscored the United States' strong support for a proposal to hold a new presidential election this year under the supervision of Western colleagues who are very concerned about democracy and freedom in our country. They were as concerned about democracy in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine. All countries that took heed of their advice saw only bloodshed and devastation: millions of refugees, poverty, and lost sovereignty. Of course, a redo election is out of the question. We do not need any mediators. We will not fall again for fairytales about the concern of the West about our countries, which we already heard in the 1990s,” Oleg Gaidukevich noted.
BelTA reported earlier that on 22 March Vladimir Makei had a phone conversation with Derek Chollet on the initiative of the United States. In connection with a number of concerns expressed by Derek Chollet, Vladimir Makei urged the United States to objectively assess the situation in Belarus, and described the attempts to exert pressure on the sovereign state as counter productive.
In this context, the minister noted that the United States made a number of almost identical statements. Vladimir Makei also urged against attempts to influence the law enforcement or judicial system of Belarus.
The parties agreed that the mutually respectful dialogue maintained by Belarus and the United States in recent years helped achieve significant progress in bilateral relations.
